In looking around for Ph test strips

[deb12c]

This is the cheapest place I have found. Does anyone know of a cheaper one? I have seen the strips for alot higher.

$6.00 for a 15 foot roll.

http://www.soapcrafters.com/category.gc?ID=255

[sudsnwicks]

These were the ones I got:

http://www.thesage.com/catalog/Equipment.html#pHTestingStrips

It is $2 for 100 pieces.

I'm not sure how many pieces are in a 15 foot roll, but I would think it's way more than 100.

[deb12c]

That's even better thank you

[Fire and Ice]

How reliable are these strip in telling you the PH level of your soap? I've read on the Dish, that they are basically a waste of time and money. What are good numbers in PH in soap VS. out of balance PH. ( I'm talking basic CP soap with no goatsmilk or honey. Just a basic 3 or 4 oils& butters soap?

Fire

[deb12c]

I will always use them because of the scary ingredient.... lye

[GrandmaArial]

From testing my own soap, hand made soap sent to me from others, and commercial soaps most soap tests right at between 9 and 10 PH. 10 feels harsh to my skin so I won’t hand out anything above 9.5, which is what most commercial soaps test at. The higher the PH the better “cleaning” (read grease cutting) a soap is, the lower (with in reason, but your soap will never be acidic so don’t worry about it) the milder it is to the skin, which has a PH value of 5.5 so expect and look for this as you work out your recipes.

The type of PH strips you’re looking at , deb, tend to test low because of the surfactants in soap. This is caused by the soap “coating” the indicator compound. Get some samples of commercial soaps and practice testing them with various ratios of water to soap to get a feel for it. Too much or too little water and it will test low. You can also use phenolphthalein to “calibrate” your ph paper. Simply test the same samples with the phenol. Phenolphthalein will start turning pink at 8.5. The darker it is the higher the PH. Not accurate at all, but will help give you an idea of what you’re looking at with the litmus paper. I get my ph test supplies from a local supplier recommended by science teacher at our local high school. I think I’ve seen phenol sold on many soap supply sites. On commercial soap… off the top of my head… dove is a ph of 7, Zest and Palmolive test at 10, and almost everything else tests at 9.5 (there is one popular commercial soap that tests at 9, but I can’t remember which one, sorry). There are expensive test strips you can get that will give an accurate reading with soap, but it’s very expensive. Like $20 for a box of 100. I’m sitting here trying to remember what brand I used (I had about half a box when I started making CP) but can’t for the life of me… all I can remember is they had 4 pieces of different types of litmus paper on them. They were very accurate, but now I use plain old litmus paper. You don’t need that accurate a reading, you just need to make sure it isn’t lye heavy and with practice that’s easy with the litmus paper.

As I’ve said before PH testing is something I do to satisfy me. Many here produce lovely soap and only use the zap test. It is an individual choice. If it makes you feel more secure then do it. If you think it’s a waste of time then don’t. There is no law saying anyone has to. Neither is there any law forbidding it.

Good luck with your endeavors.

[Fire and Ice]

Thanks so much for the information and education.

Fire

[Fire and Ice]

I will always use them because of the scary ingredient.... lye

Oh I fully agree with you! I was just reporting what was said on another board by other soapers!

Fire

[deb12c]

Thank you GrandmaArial I will do that

[sudsnwicks]

It is true those strips aren't too accurate. Well what can you expect for a $2 item. I bought them when I was new to soaping; it just made me feel more comfortable that I was on the right track.

[GrandmaArial]

When it comes to testing soap all I hope is that everyone does test every batch before sending it out. How you test it is up to you. Not long after I joined this forum there was a post from someone who was short of product and bought some wholesale from another supplier to fill an order. It seems no one tested it before it was sent to the customers and was lye heavy. I do not remember any reports of serious injury from this incident… but the potential is there.

[Roxanne]

I think the cheap strips are just so innacurate that they give a completely false sense of a soap's pH level. A better test would be washing your hands or, better still, your face with a scrap of the soap in question.

On another list a soaper reported that her soaps consistently tested in the range of 5.5 to 7.5 using pH strips. When she sent some bars to a lab for testing, she found out the pH was actually 10.3. If the strips give such low readings for soap that's really 10 or so, what are they going to show for soap that's really 12? Maybe 8? Still looks good on the strip, but probably not what you'd want to use on your skin.

The pricy strips that are more accurate for testing soap are available at http://www.soapimpressions.com for $16 per 100. If you really want to know the pH of your soap, though, you'll need a pH meter and calibration solutions at 7 and 10 pH. (Calibrating the meter with only pH 7 solution will give false low readings.) I've done some pH testing in the past but haven't bothered with it for a long time; I just test my soaps by using them.

An interesting side note from when I was testing: I bought a bar of a nationally marketed goat milk soap that claimed a neutral pH, just for testing purposes. It tested at something like 10.2 -- not exactly neutral. I guess they tested with pH strips instead of a meter.

[GrandmaArial]

I think the cheap strips are just so innacurate that they give a completely false sense of a soap's pH level. A better test would be washing your hands or, better still, your face with a scrap of the soap in question.

On another list a soaper reported that her soaps consistently tested in the range of 5.5 to 7.5 using pH strips. When she sent some bars to a lab for testing, she found out the pH was actually 10.3. If the strips give such low readings for soap that's really 10 or so, what are they going to show for soap that's really 12? Maybe 8? Still looks good on the strip, but probably not what you'd want to use on your skin.

The pricy strips that are more accurate for testing soap are available at http://www.soapimpressions.com for $16 per 100. If you really want to know the pH of your soap, though, you'll need a pH meter and calibration solutions at 7 and 10 pH. (Calibrating the meter with only pH 7 solution will give false low readings.) I've done some pH testing in the past but haven't bothered with it for a long time; I just test my soaps by using them.

An interesting side note from when I was testing: I bought a bar of a nationally marketed goat milk soap that claimed a neutral pH, just for testing purposes. It tested at something like 10.2 -- not exactly neutral. I guess they tested with pH strips instead of a meter.

That is why I said to test using pheno to get a feel for the true reading. It takes some practice, but using consistent methods will give consistent results. The person who’s soap was testing at 5.5… I have no idea how she was getting that. My only guess is her water was acidic. I should have mentioned that you should test your water; we have a purification unit so I know our water tests neutral. I forget that most people aren’t that fortunate.

Find the right water to soap ratio for the solution. Start off with a thick slurry and keep diluting it and testing until you get the strongest reaction. When it starts going down you have peaked. Once you know the ratio just use that ratio. To low, of course, means you’re testing the water. To high the surfactant traps the reactive so you are effectively testing the water. And test against known samples. The one thing commercial soaps are good for in my opinion, LOL. Pick up a bar of dial or what ever, probably best to try a couple different brands and test your soap against them. The surfactants in detergents act the same for real soap when it comes to testing for PH. Make note of the color, and that is the color you need to test for, not what it says on the chart. When you have these things down it’s easy. For myself I drop a bead of soap in a test tube and add about 2 times water and swirl for a moment. Litmus paper seems to read about 1 to 1 .5 points low compared to other testing methods the way I do it so I look for a reading below 8. If it tests to high you can always use it for hand soap or laundry soap.

I agree that ideally all soap should be tested by the soaper. But I don’t think washing your hands with it at the sink will do the job. My hands are tough. I used to use ammonia (before the new kitchen which we can’t use alkalis on the counters or grout) with no ill effects, well, on my skin. No way would I want to try bathing with anything with a PH above 11 (I believe ammonia tests around 11.4 to 11.5). And I would never expose my eyes to anything I don't know to be safe. So I test first.

Thank you for the link for the high range strips. That’s not the brand I had, the box had a red label. I would assume this brand has the same accuracy, so would be worth the investment to get your base readings on the litmus paper, Deb, IMHO. Up to you. It’s all a matter of personal choice. If it is a waste of time and money, then it is our time and money to waste.

[Roxanne]

The person who’s soap was testing at 5.5… I have no idea how she was getting that.

I don't know, either, as I didn't ask her for specifics. The lower end of her test results was a bit extreme, but I've seen a number of posts (and website claims) over the years from different soapers who thought their CP soap was pH 7 or 8 based on using test strips.

It’s all a matter of personal choice. If it is a waste of time and money, then it is our time and money to waste.

Absolutely. People can spend their resources as they see fit.

[deb12c]

It's all confusing to me Thank you for the link Roxanne I will order some but not quite sure about this... LOL

pH meter and calibration solutions at 7 and 10 pH. (Calibrating the meter with only pH 7 solution will give false low readings